Who was DB Cooper and what ended up happening to him may go down as one of the greatest mysteries in U.S. history? To this day, no one knows his real name and no one knows what happened to him after he jumped out of that plane with $200,000 over 40 years ago. But a letter that was released recently released from the FBI’s archives may well deepen this infamous mystery.

In case you’re not familiar with this case, on Nov. 24, 1971, a man calling himself D.B. Cooper hijacked Northwest Airlines Flight 305 with 36 passengers on board by using a briefcase he said had a bomb in it.

Cooper demanded $200,000 and several parachutes, then ordered the plane to fly him to Mexico. While the plane was en route, Cooper jumped out into the night. The authorities tailing the plane did not see Cooper jump, and he, nor the money, was ever seen again. The FBI contends that Cooper could not have survived the jump, but nobody was ever recovered.

Since then there have been many theories about what happened to D.B. Cooper. Some say he did indeed die in the jump, some say was Minnesota resident Kenneth Christiansen there are even those who claim he was actually a she.

And now according to a carbon copy letter that turned over to the FBI 3 weeks after the hijacking. D.B Cooper not only survived the jump, but his heist was also covered up by the FBI to hide their embarrassment.

The letter, which was sent by someone claiming to be D.B Cooper says:

“Sirs,
I knew from the start that I wouldn’t be caught.
I didn’t rob Northwest Orient because I thought it would be romantic, heroic or any of the other euphemisms that seem to attach themselves to situations of high risk.
I’m no modern day Robin Hood. Unfortunately, I do have only 14 months to live.
My life has been one of hate, turmoil, hunger and more hate. This seemed to be the fastest and most profitable way to gain a few fast grains of peace of mind.
I don’t blame people for hating me for what I’ve done, nor do I blame anybody for wanting me to be caught and punished, though this can never happen.
Here are some (not all) of the things working with the authorities:
I’m not a boasting man
I left no fingerprints
I wore a toupee
I wore putty make-up
They could add or subtract from the composite a hundred times and not come up with an accurate description, and we both know it. I’ve come and gone on several airline flights already and am not holed up in some obscure backwoods town. Neither am I a psychopathic killer. I’ve never even received a speeding ticket.
Thank you for your attention.
D.B. COOPER”

The letter was obtained by a private team investigators led by Thomas Colbert TV and film executive and his wife Dawna thru the Freedom of Information Act and told the Dailymail that:

“This was the biggest secret of the whole investigation, not revealed until two FBI agents wrote books in 1984 and 1991 and discreetly mentioned it,” Colbert explains.

“No fingerprints of value” were recovered anywhere Cooper was in the aircraft, including on his drinking cup. The only man outside the Bureau to know that would be Cooper.
‘And, I might add, none were found on this fifth DBC letter or the earlier four. Highly unlikely we have two separate Coopers with the same meticulous habit.’